Is a microschool the right fit? What Minnesota parents should know.

“Kids get to be kids while also learning at their level,” said Kathleen Amstutz, co-founder of Heart Learning Collective in White Bear Lake. That s what teachers and parents at what are called microschools say is the big advantage of smaller facilities. Microschools began showing up in Minnesota over the last decade. We don’t know exactly how many there are because the state treats them as homeschools and doesn’t track microschools as a separate number.  Some independent tracking organizations say they’ve found between 16 and 21 microschools in Minnesota in 2026. How does a parent know if a microschool is providing a good education? It really comes down to asking the right questions. “An email landed in my personal inbox of: have you ever dreamed of starting your own micro school? And I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, yes, we have,’” said Amstutz about how she and her partner decided to make the leap from being public school teachers to running their own independent school.